Tune In: The Nick Smith Jr Thread

[MasterIchiro]

Natural talent shining through that made him a top recruit coming out of HS.

We soon forget his knee injury limited him to 17 games in college.

He's practically straight out of high school last year as a rookie where he shot over 40% from 3, only to be yanked for Poku, Bryce, etc. by Clifford after last year's deadline.

NSJ reported to Shannon Spake, the game is slowing down for him.

He's still 20, so I'd say given the gap in his college year and given the limited run under Clifford, he's figured it out kind of early.

He will still make mistakes but at least the offense looks functional with him, and we must develop chemistry heading into next season.

We won with NSJ starting, playing 30 minutes, and closing.

He'd be a junior this year. He'd absolutely maul college defenses right now and be considered a lottery talent as a junior.

[luciano-davidwesley]

Guys that shoot the 3 as well as he does will always find a role. His mid range game is looking improved from last year too.

If he works out getting it to the rack and free throw line consistently (unlikely IMO) he'll be an extremely good offensive player.

I continue to be a NSJ truther.

[MasterIchiro]

51 games last year.

Only 21 this year. But still some runway.

14.3 minutes last year.

Only 12.5 minutes this year.

And Tre Mann has been injured all this time. Tre has played in only 13 games this year. That's fewer than Grant Williams who played in 16.

Anyways, here's to the numbers for minutes/games played coming correct.

NSJ is 40.6% on threes on 3 attempts this year. Last year he was 43.2% on 3 attempts.

At this point in sample size, you have to be buying the shot. And he's on a cheap contract.

[Chapelchilla]

He is probably better as a bench player because he is small and thin but he can score and plays hard. I hope he keeps it up.

[fatlever]

I was going to type out a long response about Nick Smith Junior, But it's probably easier if I just link to the point in today's podcast with plowright. He basically sums up my opinions on Nick perfectly. This isn't a knock on Nick.

https://youtu.be/f2R6xhCyEDo?si=BIjs68yeXQaGOx_p&t=1544

For those Not interested in watching the three to four minute segment I linked to
- Nick is still essentially the same player from last year that we saw when he was shooting 40% from three. It's taken him all summer preseason and to this point in the season to get back to that player. It's great that he's found his stroke again. Everything else about Nick though still remains the same. The weaknesses are still there. We will certainly take this version of Nick right now with Miller out we desperately need some shooters and offense, but long term fit for this team, especially next to melo, We still need to see more than just spot up threes in mid range. And I don't think the Hornets will make a long term commitment to Nick unless or until he can show those other parts of his game. It's great they're getting a good look at him right now because they'll probably need to make a decision at some point between Nick or tre mann. I don't really see a world where both are in the long term plans for this team.

[JMAC3]

This guy was the 27th pick and people are shocked he isn't already the 6th man 1 year into his career lol.

"wow this guy isn't in the rotation yet? He is awful, we should cut bait"

I find it funny how bad some people are at managing expectations for different players. it is a constant on this board from Oubre to NRichards to NSJ

Shocker the 20 yr old first round talent half the board tried to write off 50 games into his career might be okay?

... but hey everyone definitely should not pay attention to this example and rethink Salaun, no way anything similar could happen right?

[Hornet Mania]

I've always liked NSJ and believed he could develop into a quality offensive spark plug off the bench who also competes on defense. Something like what Terrance Mann was doing for us earlier in the year.

Very happy for him. He worked hard and wasn't spoon fed opportunities, he earned this playing time the honest way. From everything I've seen/read he has a great attitude and work ethic so he should be able to build on this.

[fatlever]

I've always liked NSJ and believed he could develop into a quality offensive spark plug off the bench who also competes on defense. Something like what Terrance Mann was doing for us earlier in the year.

Very happy for him. He worked hard and wasn't spoon fed opportunities, he earned this playing time the honest way. From everything I've seen/read he has a great attitude and work ethic so he should be able to build on this.

I wouldn't necessarily say he earned his playing time Prior to him being thrust in the starting lineup. I mean, he's playing because Tre Mann is hurt, Miller is hurt And it doesn't make sense for this team right now to be playing Curry over him.
If this team was in the hunt for a playoff spot I have no doubt that Seth Curry would be getting more minutes. Curry is the better all around basketball player right now. But it completely makes sense that the front office is prioritizing getting Nick some minutes over Curry. They need to know what they have in him heading into the offseason. They might be showcasing him for a trade. They might want to see if Nick can give them what mann was giving the team in order to have some leverage going into contract negotiations with mann this summer. I am 100% in favor of Nick getting all the minutes he can handle right now. But I wouldn't necessarily say he's done anything prior to this recent stretch to earn the minutes other than working hard and going down to Greensboro and putting in the time in Greensboro And getting his shot confidence back. and maybe that's what you meant by earning the minutes idk.

[KembaWalker]

you know this franchise is in absolute hell when guys are out here trying to give themselves positivity scoreboarding victories about NSJ having a 2 good games in a totally lost season where the only reason he is even playing is because the team literally wants to lose (according to what they were telling me last week). and they apparently can't even do that right

lul

[Hornet Mania]

I've always liked NSJ and believed he could develop into a quality offensive spark plug off the bench who also competes on defense. Something like what Terrance Mann was doing for us earlier in the year.

Very happy for him. He worked hard and wasn't spoon fed opportunities, he earned this playing time the honest way. From everything I've seen/read he has a great attitude and work ethic so he should be able to build on this.

I wouldn't necessarily say he earned his playing time Prior to him being thrust in the starting lineup. I mean, he's playing because Tre Mann is hurt, Miller is hurt And it doesn't make sense for this team right now to be playing Curry over him.
If this team was in the hunt for a playoff spot I have no doubt that Seth Curry would be getting more minutes. Curry is the better all around basketball player right now. But it completely makes sense that the front office is prioritizing getting Nick some minutes over Curry. They need to know what they have in him heading into the offseason. They might be showcasing him for a trade. They might want to see if Nick can give them what mann was giving the team in order to have some leverage going into contract negotiations with mann this summer. I am 100% in favor of Nick getting all the minutes he can handle right now. But I wouldn't necessarily say he's done anything prior to this recent stretch to earn the minutes other than working hard and going down to Greensboro and putting in the time in Greensboro And getting his shot confidence back. and maybe that's what you meant by earning the minutes idk.

That's exactly what I meant.

I obviously know the new regime isn't committed to winning, but they also stopped playing randos like Isaiah Wong instead of NSJ which is progress. I assume that's because he's been playing will in Greensboro and they now figure he's at least worth a look, I don't think they felt that way a couple months ago.

[fatlever]

fair enough

[Walt Cronkite]

I obviously know the new regime isn't committed to winning, but they also stopped playing randos like Isaiah Wong instead of NSJ which is progress. I assume that's because he's been playing will in Greensboro and they now figure he's at least worth a look, I don't think they felt that way a couple months ago.

Ideally there is an environment where a guy like NSJ can absorb stuff with the main team, get reps executing team principles in g-league, then get called back up to see where they stand with "real" NBA reps. As the board optimist, that would be preferable to the franchise being down on Nick until they sent him to Greensboro to sink or swim and he found his shot and he gets called back out of desperation.

[JMAC3]

you know this franchise is in absolute hell when guys are out here trying to give themselves positivity scoreboarding victories about NSJ having a 2 good games in a totally lost season where the only reason he is even playing is because the team literally wants to lose (according to what they were telling me last week). and they apparently can't even do that right

lul

He has been pretty well for the last 6 games outside of the Utah game.

The game vs Phoenix we won he played really well even though boxscore wasn't crazy.

[EmpireFalls]

This kid is very good. It’s crazy how little attention he’s getting. Such a refined offensive game. Complete scorer.

[Walt Cronkite]

This kid is very good. It’s crazy how little attention he’s getting. Such a refined offensive game. Complete scorer.

Would like to see him tighten up his handle some, fun to watch when his confidence is up, seems like he would be fun to play alongside, often looking for his teammates (sometimes to his detriment).

[wilson115]

Read on Twitter

[Diop]

I’m so glad this dude proved me wrong

[luciano-davidwesley]

Still a truther

[fatlever]

Curious to see how the guard/wing depth chart shakes out next year, assuming mann is back

Could still be mann or nsj, not mann and nsj. Will they pay mann with nsj playing much better? Especially with knecht here?

Depth and competition are good problems tho



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[MasterIchiro]

Curious to see how the guard/wing depth chart shakes out next year, assuming mann is back

Could still be mann or nsj, not mann and nsj. Will they pay mann with nsj playing much better? Especially with knecht here?

Depth and competition are good problems tho

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A high lottery pick in this draft is going to have huge impact on roster decisions that follow.

We will know more after the draft.

Given our record and track record of zero playoff experience for this core, I expect the Hornets to hold the younger pieces like Mann, NSJ, Knecht and trim from the more experienced bench level players like Green, Okogie, or even Grant.

But not just for any old trade target and not as a strict dump, but for upgrades at positions where there is greater need.

Even if there is a glut at guard and obvious overlap, you can play Mann at PG2 or SG2. Knecht at SG1, SG2 or SF2. NSJ at SG2. They are closer to the age of the draft pick and the window with LaMelo.

There are plenty of minutes to go around for the 3 of them plus the high lottery pick. I wouldn't let someone like Josh Green or Josh Okogie stand in the way of their development.

We are far from the Thunder's predicament with so many settled spots you have to give away Tre Mann before he blossoms.